Courses
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Core Regine Courses
- Copyright Law (3)
- Patents & Trade Secrets (3)
- Trademarks & Unfair Competition (3)
- Intellectual Property Survey Course (4)
Licensing and Prosecution Courses
- Intellectual Property Licensing Seminar (2)
- Patent Prosecution Seminar (2)
- Trademark Prosecution Seminar (2)
Concentration Capstone Seminar
Intellectual Property Electives
- Administrative Law (3)
- Advanced Topics in Patent Law (2)
- Antitrust & Intellectual Property Seminar (2)
- Art Law Seminar (2)
- Copyright Law (3)
- Cyberlaw Seminar (2)
- Data Privacy Law (2)
- Digital Media Law (2)
- Entertainment Law (2)
- Genetics: Issues in Law & Policy Seminar (2)
- Intellectual Property Licensing Seminar (2)
- Intellectual Property Under State Law: Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility Seminar (2)
- International & Comparative Intellectual Property (2)
- LAB Project Seminar (3)
- Modern Bioethics: From Nuremburg to the 'Octomom' and Beyond (3 or 4)
- Patent Litigation (2)
- Patent Prosecution Seminar (2)
- Patents and Trade Secrets (3)
- Social Media Law (2)
- Trademark Prosecution Seminar (2)
- Trademarks and Unfair Competition (3)
- Venture Capital & the Start-Up Company (2)
Non-Intellectual Property Electives
- Antitrust (3 or 4)
- Business Associations (4)
- Corporations (3 or 4)
- Federal Courts (3)
- Health Law (3)
- International Business Transactions (3)
- Law and Economics Seminar (2)
- Political Economy of Law Seminar (2)
Course Descriptions
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Copyright Law (3)
This class provides in-depth coverage of substantive copyright law--rights in original works of authorship. It covers the subject matter in greater depth than the Intellectual Property survey course.
Professors: Margreth Barrett
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Patents & Trade Secrets (3)
This class provides in-depth coverage of substantive trade secret law and patent law. In addition, it covers aspects of patent prosecution practice and procedure. This class is recommended particularly for students planning to specialize in patent law, because it covers the subject matter in greater depth than the Intellectual Property survey course.
Professors: Jeffrey Lefstin
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Trademarks & Unfair Competition (3)
This class provides in-depth coverage of substantive trademark and unfair competition law--rights in indications of product or service origin and rights against passing off. It covers the subject matter in greater depth than the Intellectual Property survey course.
Professors: Margreth Barrett
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Intellectual Property Survey Course (4)
This is a survey course that covers the substantive law of trade secrets, patents, copyrights and trademarks and may also cover additional aspects of unfair competition and state publicity rights. It is meant to provide students with a general working knowledge of the various intellectual property doctrines, and an understanding of how the individual intellectual property doctrines compare, contrast and may be used to complement one another. It is recommended particularly for students who do not necessarily plan to specialize in an intellectual property practice, but nonetheless desire a background in the subject matter to augment a more general business or civil litigation practice.
Students who expect to specialize in one or more areas of intellectual property practice are advised to take one or more of the three more specialized classes offered by the College: (1) Patents and Trade Secrets, (2) Copyright, and (3) Trademarks and Unfair Competition. Each of these 3-unit classes addresses the subject matter indicated in its name in greater depth than is provided in the Intellectual Property survey course. However, because there is substantial overlap, a student who has already taken two of the specialized courses will not be permitted to enroll in the Intellectual Property survey course.
Professors: Margreth Barrett, Robin Feldman, Jeff Lefstin
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Intellectual Property Licensing Seminar (2)
Prerequisite: Intellectual Property survey course or IP Issues in Biotechnology, Patents & Trade Secrets, Copyright, or Trademarks and Unfair Competition, or with the approval of the instructor. This seminar will NOT satisfy the writing requirement.
This seminar will cover all aspects of intellectual property licensing, with a focus on technology licensing. It will cover the uses of licenses, the formation of licensure agreements, sublicensing, confidentiality, royalties and payments for licenses, warranties and indemnities, and limitations of liability, among other topics. The focus will be on drafting concerns as well as substantive concerns, and students will engage in weekly discussions of publicly announced license transactions, a mock negotiation, as well as a final project.
Professors: Sara Harrington, Catherine Kirkman, Mark Spolyar
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Patent Prosecution Seminar (2)
Satisfies professional skills requirement. Prerequisite: Intellectual Property survey course or Patents & Trade Secrets Law This seminar will NOT satisfy the writing requirement except with permission of instructor and additional writing assignments.
This seminar is directed to students with an interest in further developing their knowledge of patent law through patent portfolio development and management, including preparing and prosecuting a patent application. The focus of the seminar will be on learning substantive and procedural aspects of patent law counseling, patent practice before the Patent Office and on developing good patent related writing skills.
Particular attention will be given to writing assignments, which will include claim drafting, preparation of a patent application and a response to Office Actions. In addition, the students will partake in a strategic patent counseling exercise.
This seminar will be divided into two sections. The first section will focus on portfolio development, including preparation of the application, with an emphasis on drafting claims, a specification and an information disclosure statement. The necessary supporting documents, such as the inventor's declaration, assignment and small entity declaration will also be discussed. A discussion of the patent attorney's ethical duties under 37 C.F.R. § 1.56 will also be considered in detail.
The second part of the seminar will be directed to management and counseling, including prosecuting an application before the Patent Office. This section will cover preparation of a response to an official Office Action from the Patent Office, including addressing statutory rejections and developing strategies for traversing these rejections. This section will also introduce the student to international patent practice. In addition, in both the first and second sections, the students will work through counseling exercises to apply knowledge developed during the seminar to practical situations. No technical background is necessary or required for this class.
Professors: Daniel Brownstone, Robert Hulse
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Trademark Prosecution Seminar (2)
Satisfies professional skills requirement. This seminar will NOT satisfy the writing requirement. Prerequisites: Intellectual Property Survey or Trademarks & Unfair Competition.
This seminar is directed primarily to students interested in gaining real-world trademark law experience through reviewing and engaging in client counseling, search analysis, trademark application and prosecution processes on behalf of a fictional client. The focus is on learning substantive and procedural aspects of practice before the Trademark Office and the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, working with local counsel on international trademark searches and applications, and on developing counseling and strategic analysis skills.
Regular writing assignments will include preparation of trademark applications, responses to Office Actions, Oppositions, and post-registration procedures (including Cancellation proceedings).
Professors: Emily Burns
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Intellectual Property Concentration Capstone Seminar (2)
Satisfies writing requirement. Limited to 3rd year students enrolled in the Intellectual Property Law Concentration.
The capstone seminar will integrate what third-year concentration students have learned in the core and elective concentration courses, and invite them to consider what lies ahead. The course explores the challenges posed by globalization and technological advance that will shape intellectual property law during the next several decades, and how the current intellectual property regime is likely to change in response.
Specific topics will vary from year to year, but will center around globalization and the movement toward international harmonization of intellectual property law, normative and utilitarian challenges to traditional notions of intellectual property, and the administration of the intellectual property regime in response to emerging technological and legal developments.
The entire intellectual property faculty will participate in the seminar. Students will write a research paper of publishable quality on a research topic of their choosing related to intellectual property.
Professors: Robin Feldman, Jeffrey Lefstin, Margreth Barrett
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Administrative Law (3)
An introduction to the laws controlling executive branch agencies of government. Major topics include delegation of power to agencies, modes of agency action (adoption of rules, case-by-case enforcement, and choice between modes of action), control of agencies by the legislative branch (through budget, oversight, advise and consent, and veto), control by the judicial branch (limitations and scope of judicial review), and public access and influence (freedom of information, open-meeting laws).
Professors: Dorit Reiss, Reuel Shiller
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Advanced Topics in Patent Law (2)
Satisfies writing requirement. Prerequisite: Intellectual Property survey course or Patents and Trade Secrets or with permission of the instructor.
This seminar examines problems of theoretical and current interest in patent and innovation law. Topics include the proper scope of the patent regime, the function of the patent system in the economy and its relationship to industry structure, licensing practice and technological and scientific advancement, administrative structure of the patent acquisition and adjudication processes, and the substantive law of emerging technologies. The course also considers significant pending judicial and legislative developments. Students will write a research paper on patent law or an allied field. Significant student participation is required throughout the course.
Professors: Jeffrey Lefstin
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Antitrust & Intellectual Property Seminar (2)
This seminar will NOT satisfy the writing requirement.
This course examines both antitrust and intellectual property law in depth with a special emphasis on the relationship between those laws, how they generally complement each other to promote innovation through competition for the public benefit while occasionally conflicting with each other. The course will analyze various intellectual property licensing practices under governing antitrust principles, the extent of a patent owner's right to exclude others from technology markets, joint licensing practices, antitrust risks in the prosecution or settlement of intellectual property claims, the adoption of industry standards for intellectual property, and a comparative analysis of antitrust liability and patent misuse.
Professors: Eugene Crew
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Art Law Seminar (2)
Satisfies writing requirement. This seminar examines significant legal issues at the intersection of law and art. The class studies state and federal statutory and decisional law as well as international law and conventions which govern visual art, cultural property, and the art and antiquities markets. With individual paintings selling for more than $150 million in today’s market, and with the illicit trade in stolen art and antiquities estimated by the F.B.I. to exceed $6 billion annually, the scope of legal issues cut across many substantive areas of law including: Intellectual property law; Contracts and the law of international transactions; Constitutional law; Tax law; Non-profit and corporate law and governance; Criminal law and procedure; Cultural property law; and International law.
Professors: Denise Alter
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Cyberlaw Seminar (2)
This seminar will NOT satisfy the writing requirement.
This seminar will survey key legal issues in Internet law, including intellectual property ("Who owns your MySpace?"), electronic commerce ("Is a click a contract?"), content regulation ("What if a kid sees that?"), privacy and anonymity ("Who can tell I'm reading Perez Hilton?"), unauthorized access ("When is hacking a crime?"), and Internet governance ("Who's in charge here?"). Readings will focus on the latest developments in each of these areas. No prerequisites, and no technical background is required; supplementary readings will be available for those without basic knowledge of Internet technology and intellectual property law.
Professors: Joseph Gratz
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Data Privacy Law (2)
More and more companies and government agencies find themselves in the press and courtrooms for data privacy and security law violations. Given the rapidly increasing technological options to collect and commercialize personal data, this area of the law is rapidly growing. This course will familiarize students with the typical legal problems arising from the conflicting interests in data and privacy in today’s global economy and society, in particular in the areas of government, commerce and employment. The significance and practical relevance of domestic, international and foreign national laws is rapidly increasing for individuals, businesspeople, attorneys, judges, and legislators around the world.
Topics covered will include common law, constitutional and statutory rights and obligations regarding data privacy, data security and legal protection for data bases under California, U.S. Federal, European Community, public international and other countries’ laws, including, for example, the U.S.- EU Safe Harbor Principles, rules on spamming, wiretapping, homeland security, and employee monitoring.
Professors: Lothar Determann
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Digital Media Law (2)
This seminar will NOT satisfy the writing requirement. Prerequisite: Intellectual Property survey course recommended but not required.
This course will explore in depth the issues, legal principles, and practical considerations facing legal professionals in the booming digital media industry. Each week a different practitioner (or pair of practitioners) will teach a class on his/her specific area of expertise. The seminar will emphasize practical application of the law to a range of legal problems, arising in a variety of professional contexts. Students will be challenged to assess recent relevant case law, interpret licensing agreements, perform risk analysis from the perspective of the in house attorney, and obtain a general overview of the legal issues most relevant to the emerging and extremely dynamic digital media industry. Like most seminars, this is expected to be an interactive course that utilizes a range of different materials and teaching techniques. Though not the primary purpose of the course, it is also expected that the select group of practitioners who have agreed to participate in the seminar will present a rare and valuable networking resource to the students.
Professors: Cecily Mak
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Entertainment Law (2)
The course examines various complex intellectual property, labor and contractual issues facing attorneys representing clients in the entertainment industry. This course will take a practical approach to learn what attorneys really do in the entertainment business. Topics include negotiating agreements for talent services and contracts for production, distribution and exploitation of creative works; acquiring and protecting rights to creative property; protecting rights of privacy and publicity; negotiating and accounting for profit participation, residuals and royalties; and the legal and ethical responsibilities of lawyers, talent agents and other representatives in the entertainment business. Prior enrollment in Intellectual Property is recommended but not required.
Professors: Michael Kernan, David Kostiner
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Genetics: Issues in Law & Policy Seminar (2)
Satisfies writing requirements. This seminar examines numerous points of intersection between the law and genetics. In some instances, the law constrains the practice of genetics and the use of genetic information, while in others genetics may help inform legal investigations or judicial opinions. A major focus of the course will be to analyze the ways in which the U.S. has decided to regulate genetics across different disciplines, giving special consideration to those areas where genetics appears to be regulated in a different manner than other similar fields. The seminar will also examine the ethical and political conundrums raised by incorporating genetics into modern businesses, families, and society. Students will receive a basic overview of the relevant scientific principles and the historical use of genetics in society. However, the vast majority of the course will focus on the current uses of genetic science and its future potential. Students will be asked to give a presentation and write a paper on a topic of their choosing.
Professors: Jaime King
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Intellectual Property Under State Law: Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility Seminar (2)
Trade Secret law is one of the four core areas of intellectual property law, along with Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents. Trade Secret law is particularly important in Silicon Valley and other high technology regions based on small start-up enterprises, high rates of employee movement and venture financing. Students who plan to work in technology- related fields will face trade secret issues just as surely as they will face copyright and patent issues.
This course will cover trade secrecy, with a focus on California law under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. It will also cover a number of related doctrines that regulate use of information between employers and employees, including non competition covenants, non- solicitation covenants, invention assignment agreements, fiduciary duty and the preparing to compete doctrine, the work for hire doctrine under the Copyright Act, and the federal Economic Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Much of trade secret practice in Silicon Valley and other technology regions is not reflected in the case law. To give students a sense of how the law might arise in practice, the course will provide examples such as venture capital due diligence, planning for a start-up company and so on. Key conflicts in today’s trade secret practice – inevitable disclosure, identification of trade secret claims, and common law preemption – will be explored in greater depth, along with public policy concerns – like employee rights and innovation policy – that inflect all areas of intellectual property law.
Professors: Charles Tait Graves
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International & Comparative Intellectual Property (2)
Prerequisite: Prior enrollment in Intellectual Property survey or Copyright, Trademarks and Unfair Competition, or Patents and Trade Secrets
This course will focus on comparison of intellectual property laws, primarily between the civil law system of continental Europe and the common law system in the US, UK and other Anglo-Saxon countries. Developments in China, Japan, Russia, a.o. will also be discussed. The course methodology consists of review, comparison and discussion of specific legal concepts and norms from the above-mentioned countries. The discussion will emphasize challenges brought about by technological developments and globalization. The ultimate goal is to provide students with an understanding of intellectual property from a global perspective, including national IP laws, their role within the international intellectual property area, and their interplay with international conventions governing IP law.
This course will start out with a general comparison of legal systems, and a discussion of international conventions in the area of intellectual property rights. These introductory concepts will be followed by a more detailed discussion of the creation, scope and enforcement of patent, trademark, copyright and industrial design rights respectively, highlighting some of the most significant substantive differences between the intellectual property rights in the systems examined.
Professors: Dana Beldiman
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LAB Project Seminar (3)
Satisfies writing requirement. Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in the Intellectual Property survey course or in Patents and Trade Secrets.
This seminar considers issues related to protecting discoveries in the rapidly expanding fields of genetics and biotechnology. The course operates in conjunction with the Law & Bioscience Project (LAB). Students prepare summaries of cases and PTO actions that may be posted on LAB Project or on the IPBiotechProfs list-serve. Students who wish may choose their research paper topics from projects suggested by biotech companies and biotech lawyers, and work with those outside participants to develop topics from real world examples, bringing those discussions back into the classroom. In addition, all students work on each other’s papers, with the result that everyone contributes to the products for LAB Project. Successful projects are posted on the LAB Project website and provided to outside participants. Students should note that the course addresses intellectual property issues rather than bioethics. No science background is necessary.
Professors: Robin Feldman
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Modern Bioethics: From Nuremburg to the 'Octomom' and Beyond (3 or 4)
This course explores the increasingly influential field of bioethics. Students will examine (1) the historical, sociological, and legal contexts from which modern bioethics emerged as a coherent field in the mid 20th century, (2) the biomedical developments, legal engagements, and political controversies that reshaped the enterprise towards the latter end of the century, and (3) contemporary issues in bioethics – from human subject protections to end of life decision making to reproductive and genetic technologies – and law’s role in mediating the relationship between medicine, science, and society.
NOTE: Students who have completed the seminar Bioethics, Law, and Society may not enroll without the instructor’s permission.
Professors: Osagie Obasogie
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Patent Litigation (2)
Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Intellectual Property survey course or Patents and Trade Secrets recommended but not required.
This course will focus on the discovery, analysis, and communication of technological concepts. The course will examine the law underlying patent infringement lawsuits, including the aspects of remedies unique to the field. Attention will be paid to strategic considerations in litigation, factors motivating litigants, and methods for explaining the relevant technology to the factfinder.
Professors: Brandon Baum
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Social Media Law (2)
Prerequisite: Copyright Law
The volume of digital content created by small third party companies, or individuals has increased exponentially. More than ever before, small companies and individuals have been creating their own content and making it available to social networks, hosting websites, and portable devices. The rights to all this content raises significant and challenging issues of copyright law. As a number of recent, high profile cases illustrate, the stakes for both lawyers and clients are high.
This course analyzes the legal aspects these developments, including deals for facebook, iPhone and Twitter applications and third party financed Google/YouTube videos. The course covers up-to-date developments in the doctrines governing third party content created for Social Networking Applications, Portable Device Applications, and Video Streaming websites, as well as the practical, technical and ethical issues associated with these developments.
Professors: Michael Kernan
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Venture Capital & the Start-Up Company (2)
Prerequisite: Corporations
This course will focus on the role of venture capital in the organization and development of the startup technology company, with emphasis on both the legal and business perspectives of this subject. The first part of the course will provide an overview of the venture capital industry in general and the motivations and financial objectives that shape the typical venture fund in its approach to a startup investment. The course will then shift in focus to the wide range of business, legal, tax and accounting issues that typically need to be addressed by the venture-backed technology company. These issues will be considered for the entire life cycle of the technology start-up, from the organizational stage through the seed and venture financing rounds, with some discussion in conclusion on the process and issues associated with accessing the public equity markets through an IPO. Consideration will also be given to related topics, including corporate capitalization structures, customary equity incentive arrangements for employees, and the terms and conditions of a typical venture capital investment.
The course will also feature a number of guest speakers to share their experience from a real world perspective, including venture capitalists from Silicon Valley-based venture capital funds, executives from existing venture-backed technology companies, attorneys from local law firms that concentrate in the technology area, and others.
NOTE: Students who have taken Legal Issues of the Start Up Businesses will not receive credit for this course.
Professors: Mark Baudler, Robert Kornegay, Rachel Proffitt
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Antitrust (3 or 4)
This course deals with the structure and practice of industry and with the regulation by law to promote such goals as optimum allocation of resources, dispersion of economic power, encouragement of efficiency and technological advance, and promotion of consumer interests. Extended consideration is given to the requirement of competition under the antitrust laws and to the exemptions from this requirement. Principal topics include: monopoly, mergers, vertical integration, joint enterprises, price-fixing, market- sharing, boycotts, price discrimination, tie-in sales, exclusive dealing, and franchising. Patent, copyright, and labor law are examined from the point of view of how these authorized "monopolies" are integrated into a legal structure that is basically pro-competitive. Economic and political considerations are explored in connection with the legal issues to prepare the lawyer more effectively to influence and forecast legislative, judicial, and administrative responses to the conflicts of policy in this area.
Professors: Richard Cohen, Pamela Cole, Brigid Martin, Chris Compton
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Business Associations (4)
This course involves an analysis of the law of the creation of, and relationships arising from, corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, along with agency and fiduciary relationships and governance of these business entities in the modern business setting. The legal duties of directors, managers and majority shareholders to minority shareholder and owners are explored in relation to procedural issues governing the vindication of such shareholder and owners= rights. This course includes a general introductory overview of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of `1934 in connection with the public offering of securities and antifraud prohibitions.
Students may not enroll for credit in both Business Associations and Corporations. Business Associations satisfies the prerequisite for a course that requires Corporations as a prerequisite, and vice versa.
Professors: Frederick Lambert. Abraham Cable
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Corporations (3 or 4)
A basic course on state and federal law governing incorporated business enterprises. Choice of corporate form and state of incorporation; formation procedures; corporate privileges and powers; authority and duties of corporate management; corporate finance; shareholders' role in corporate governance; special problems of close corporations; federal securities law regulation of proxy solicitation, tender offers, and fraud; derivative actions; corporate acquisitions, combinations and reorganizations; and dissolution.
Students may not enroll for credit in both Business Associations and Corporations. Business Associations satisfies the prerequisite for a course that requires Corporations as a prerequisite, and vice versa.
Professors: Bill Wang
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Federal Courts (3)
The law of federal jurisdiction revolves around two principles of power allocation: separation of powers and judicial federalism. Separation of powers refers to the allocation of decision-making authority among the coordinate branches of the federal government. Judicial federalism refers to the allocation of power between federal courts and state courts. Thus, this is a course about the role of federal courts in the American political system.
At the same time, it is a practical course. Any lawyer who plans to litigate in federal court must be aware of the complex requirements for instituting and maintaining cases in federal court. The course is extremely valuable for those who wish to be public interest litigators. The course covers the so-called "justiciability" doctrines -- standing, mootness, ripeness, and political questions. These doctrines aim to keep litigants out of federal court when they lack a concrete personal stake in the controversy, or when the subject matter is inappropriate for judicial resolution. The course also looks at the conditions under which Congress may "strip" the federal courts of jurisdiction over certain kinds of cases, leaving them to state courts, legislative courts, or administrative agencies.
A major focus of the course is § 1983, which authorizes suits against state officials and others acting "under color of" state law. The course also surveys common impediments to such actions, such as the Eleventh Amendment, several forms of “abstention,” and the Anti-Injunction Act.
Another focal point is the unique role of the United States Supreme Court in the American judicial system. In addition to supervising the lower federal courts, the Supreme Court is the only federal court that may directly review state court judgments. This has given rise to the independent and adequate state grounds doctrine, which prevents the Supreme Court from reviewing state judgments when it cannot change the result.
The course contains heavy proportions of constitutional law and civil procedure. Most students choose to take this course in their third year, but many second-year students have found the course perfectly manageable.
Professors: Evan Lee
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Health Law (3)
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the legal and policy issues surrounding the practice of medicine and our health care system. The course will cover five major areas relating to health law: (1) Physician-Patient Relationship; (2) Health Care Systems and Policy; (3) Public Health; (4) Mental Health; and (5) Bioethics. Students will receive an introduction to the different legal mechanisms that govern the practice of medicine in the United States and how those mechanisms impact patient care. The course will also examine the dynamics between different actors in the health care system from the narrow relationship between patients and physicians to the relationships between health care providers (doctors, hospitals, etc.) and payers (insurance companies, individuals and federal and state governments), as well as the broader relationship between the government (courts, agencies, and Congress) and patients. Course materials will come from a range of academic disciplines including law, medicine, philosophy, health policy and the social sciences.
Professors: Jaime King
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International Business Transactions (3)
This course provides an overview of the legal issues -- domestic, foreign, and international -- that arise when U.S. companies do business abroad. Transactions discussed include export sales, agency and distributorship agreements, licensing, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, privatization, project finance, and foreign government debt. The course also covers U.S., foreign, and international regulation in such areas as antitrust, securities, intellectual property, tax, and foreign corrupt practices. The course does not cover U.S. or G.A.T.T. rules on import restrictions.
Professors: William Dodge
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Law and Economics Seminar (2)
This course introduces students to scholarship in the field of law & economics. It highlights the various insights made by social science research (economic theory, cognitive and social psychology, sociology) in various areas of law, including torts, contract law, consumer protection law, criminal law enforcement, family law, intellectual property law, etc. We will examine how these insights can be applied to legal disputes and current legal issues. Examples include discussion of the social costs involved in enforcing intellectual property rights, the optimal regulation relating to traffic accidents involving SUVs, the arguments that support specific types of consumer protection with regard to credit card contracts, the potential merits of contingency fee systems, and so forth.
The course does not assume or require formal training in economics or quantitative social science.
Professors: Ben Depoorter
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Political Economy of Law Seminar (2)
Satisfies writing requirement. Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Comparative Law is strongly recommended but not required.Economics claims to offer a robust theoretical perspective for the contemporary study of law and legal institutions. Often however in the American academic discourse it has been transformed into a powerful tool of legitimization of the current structure of economic and political power and domination. This seminar surveys the global impact of efficiency reasoning in the law, with particular emphasis on weak political social and economic settings. The claim of rationality, of scientificity and of neutrality of economics in policy making will be critically appraised by the use of a historical and comparative method. Documentary film materials will be used. Students who have previously enrolled in Law and Economics Seminar may not register for this course.
Professors: Ugo Mattei